Professional Development

Position Statement: CNSF Letter on FY 2018 Funding for NSF

April 3, 2017

Dear Members of the United States Congress:

The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), a broad-based group of professional organizations, universities, businesses, and scientific societies that advocates for sustained, robust federal support for science, recommends an $8 billion appropriation for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in FY2018. We also ask Congress to maintain its longstanding commitment to the diversity of research disciplines NSF supports, each of which contributes in profound ways, advancing our nation's domestic interests and global competitiveness. Our recommendation for $8 billion for NSF in FY2018 is consistent with "Innovation: An American Imperative." This call-to-action which was signed by more than 500 organizations from American industry, higher education, science and engineering last year, encourages Congress to enact policies and make investments to ensure that the United States remains the global innovation leader.

Recently, NSF hosted a Capitol Hill event to welcome the new Members of the 115th Congress to Washington, D.C. and introduce them and their staff to the agency and the groundbreaking research it supports. The "NSF Arc of Science Research to Results" event showcased a dozen high-impact projects funded by the agency. Scientists and engineers
funded by every NSF directorate participated in the event and showcased their research on smart cities, first responder technologies, crime forecasting, pathogen identification, cybersecurity, advanced robotics, and more. But the scientists and engineers were not the only ones excited by the work funded by NSF; students, police officers, medical professionals, museum educators and workers at a shellfish hatchery also participated in the event and talked about the positive impact NSF-funded research has made in their local communities and businesses.

As a pillar of America's scientific research enterprise, NSF-funded research has proven to be vital to our economy, national security, and global competitiveness in science, technology, and innovation. NSF funds research in important fields - including the physical sciences, biology, mathematics, economics, computer science, geoscience, social and
behavioral science, engineering, and education research. The agency also plays a vital role in preparing the next generation's STEM workforce through funding of traineeships and research assistantships, as well as investments in K-12 STEM education both in and out of school. To foster potentially transformative research, NSF should continue to support research across all its directorates, use its world-renowned peer review system to identify the best science, and maintain flexibility to take advantage of unanticipated discoveries and insights.

We encourage the Members of the 115th Congress to make federal funding for basic scientific research, particularly NSF-funded research a top priority. Other competitor-nations are investing heavily in research and development. For the United States to remain at the forefront of scientific and technological progress, we also must continue to invest in NSF and the nation's research enterprise.

We thank you for your support and urge Congress to continue this progress by supporting an $8 billion appropriation for NSF in FY 2018. We stand ready to work with you.

Sincerely,

Coalition for National Science Funding
Afterschool Alliance
American Agricultural Economics Association
American Anthropological Association
American Association for Dental Research
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Geographers
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Astronomical Society
American Chemical Society
American Educational Research Association
American Geophysical Union
American Geosciences Institute
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Physics
American Mathematical Society
American Physical Society
American Physiological Society
American Political Science Association
American Psychological Association
American Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
American Society for Engineering Education
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Sociological Association
American Statistical Association
Arafune Government Relations, LLC
Archaeological Institute of America
Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS)
Associated Universities, Inc.
Association for Psychological Science
Association for the Sciences of Limnology & Oceanography
Association for Women in Mathematics
Association for Women in Science
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of Research Libraries
Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)
Bagley Group, LLC, The
Biophysical Society
Biophysical Society
Boise State University
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Cavarocchi Ruscio Dennis Associates
Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation
Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation
Computing Research Association
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Inc.
Cornell University
Council of Graduate Schools
Council of Scientific Society Presidents
Council on Undergraduate Research
Crop Science Society of America
Duke University - Office of Government Relations
Eastman
Ecological Society of America
Entomological Society of America
Eversole Associates
Federal Science Partners
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Florida State University
Genetics Society of America
Geological Society of America
George Mason University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)
Independent Contractor
Indiana University
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA (IEEE-USA)
Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
Linguistic Society of America
Madison Associates LLC
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Materials Research Society
Mathematical Association of America
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Museum of Science, Boston
National Communication Association
National Ground Water Association
National Postdoctoral Association
National Science Teachers Association
North Carolina State University
Northern Illinois University
Northwestern University
Ohio State University, The
Oregon State University
Ornithological Council
Pennsylvania State University
Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers
Princeton University
Psychonomic Society
PsySiP Project, The
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Research!America
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
SAGE Publishing
Seismological Society of America
Society for American Archaeology
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Research in Child Development
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)
Soil Science Society of America
SPIE
State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York System (SUNY)
Stevens Institute of Technology-Center for Innovation in Engineering and
Science Education (CIESE)
Texas Tech University
The Optical Society
Tufts University
UCAR
UNAVCO
University of California System
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Florida
University of Illinois System
University of Iowa
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Michigan
University of Missouri System
University of New Mexico, The
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of South Carolina
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vanderbilt University
Washington Partners, LLC
Washington State University
Washington University in St. Louis
West Virginia University
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution